On May 22, 2023, the Board of Directors approved a draft mission statement for Open Science at BUA. The mission statement is the result of an extensive consultation within BUA and is currently being discussed by the Academic Senates and the Faculty Council of Charité. With the mission statement, BUA provides itself with a framework for action to further deepen and promote Open Science.

The consultation process for a collaborative strategy
From mission statement to concrete support of open science activities
Our Vision
Our Mission

The consultation process for a collaborative strategy: A common vision for Open Science at the Berlin University Alliance

With the goal of developing an OpenX strategy that is supported by a broad majority, as many experts* and users* as possible are involved in the process. Therefore, the development of the OpenX strategy was organized as a two-step consultation process with experts* and users* that started in the first half of 2022.

In the first step, focus group discussions were held on various topics. The task was to develop a common understanding of requirements for the strategy and to work out initial guidelines. We invited representatives of the collaborative partners to the following focus groups according to our understanding of Open Science:

• Open Access to Publication
• Open Data and research data management
• Open Science Skills in teaching and further education
• Open Source and Open Hardware
• Citizen Science, Transdisciplinarity and Innovation Transfer
• Open Science and evaluation systems

The second step was a strategy conference in open space format on July 8, 2022, where the results of the focus groups, preliminary work, and comments were discussed and compiled into a draft text. The one-day open space day took place on July 8, 2022, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Umweltforum Berlin-Friedrichshain.

An important outcome of the consultations is a mission statement for Open Science at the Berlin University Alliance. It has emerged from initial drafts, stakeholder comments, and discussions with the governing bodies. The mission statement was approved by the Board of Directors on May 22, 2023 and is currently being presented to the Academic Senates of the Alliance Universities and the Faculty Council of Charité with the goal that they also approve the mission statement. This vote should be completed by the end of 2023.

From mission statement to concrete support of open science activities.

The mission statement sets out 9 missions with which the shared vision is to be realized in concrete thematic areas. These missions are already being implemented in various projects and activities. After agreeing on a shared mission statement, we want to deepen collaboration and work on common priorities in the future.

Our Vision

The Berlin University Alliance is committed to the principle of open science. As one of the leading science alliances in Europe, we want to make research transparent, collaborative and reusable.

Our Mission

In order to implement the goal of open science in the Berlin research area, our mission is to

• support a change in the publication culture towards a diverse, non-profit, science-driven Open Access culture for research results as a network;
• promote joint continuing education opportunities for members of the Alliance partners and embed knowledge and skills for open science practices early in advanced degree and doctoral training;
• promote the joint expansion of service offerings for various open science practices and contribute the partners’ individual strengths;
• provide, together with our Berlin partners, a sustainable technical and organizational infrastructure for contemporary research data management;
• pilot new and diverse incentives for the uptake of open science practices as a collaborative;
• collectively advocate for transparency, appropriateness, and progressiveness in the evaluation of individual researchers and research teams in line with international initiatives;
• sensitize employees from relevant science-supporting areas to the needs and promotion of open science;
• promote research and implementation projects on the diverse practices of open science that reflect and support their anchoring and deepening in the everyday life of the disciplines;
• engage in dialogue with policymakers to promote open science and to create the necessary financial, organizational and legal conditions for this.